A family business making construction products has put in a champion performance.

Naylor Industries plc, which numbers people from Kirklees and Calderdale among its employees, has been named a UK National Champion in The European Business Awards.

The awards aim to identify the most innovative businesses across the continent and promote success, innovation and ethics in the European business community.

This year, the awards engaged with more than 32,000 business from 33 European countries – with 678 companies named as national champions and going through to the second phase of the competition.

Cawthorne-based Naylor Industries is a fourth generation family business which makes pipes and other construction materials.

It has turnover of £50m, 350 employees and six UK factories. The company is in the running for the Award for European Growth Strategy of the Year, having successfully diversified and innovated to achieve considerable business growth.

Chief executive Edward Naylor said: “We’re very proud to be selected to represent the UK as a national champion.

“The European Business Awards are widely recognised as the showcase for Europe’s most dynamic companies and we are now looking forward to the next round of the judging process where we can explain in more depth how we are achieving business success.”

The next round requires the national champions to make a presentation video, telling their story and explaining their business success.

The judges will view all the videos and award the best of this group the coveted “Ruban d’Honneur” status. Those firms will go on to be part of the grand final in 2016.

The videos will also be made public on the European Business Awards website – www.businessawardseurope.com – as part of a two-stage public vote, which will decide the National Public Champions for each country.

Last year, more than 170,000 votes were cast as companies from across Europe were publicly supported by their clients, staff and peers and the general public.

The awards are backed by RSM, the seventh largest audit, tax and advisory network worldwide.